Artwork Variations

We’re often asked by clients if there is a better way to manage creating multiple artworks that are similar but contain some slight differences to meet demands for things like different clients, market segments or offer types.

Artwork Variations are designed with this in mind… an intelligent way to handle multiple variations of the same artwork within a single draft. Variations allow you to easily create new instances of an artwork and specify which fields are shared across all variants, or specific to each variant.

What is an Artwork Variation?

An Artwork Variation, put simply is a new instance of an artwork within the same draft. It means that different instances of the artwork can share the same content across all variations, whilst some things can be changed. Once a Variation has been created, you can specify which fields can be 'varied'. A varied field can then be given a different value per variation.

Each Variation is assigned a specific criteria and a corresponding value to help identify the Variation from others, and to help manage content at export.

Artwork Variations can be switched between to show the different fields and settings.

Shared fields

Once the first Variation has been created, any field that hasn’t been varied, is considered a shared field, and any value or setting that is applied will apply across all Variations. You set it once and it applies to all.

Shared fields can be accessed in two ways…

1

On the Variation toolbar select ‘Multi-Variations' view. This will automatically switch to the shared fields.

2

On the Variations panel on the editor, cycle left through the Variations until you hit the first one. This will be the shared fields.

What templates can use Variations?

Currently, Artwork Variations are available to Email and Image templates only. It will be rolled out to other template types in future updates.

How do I turn on Variations for a template?

To switch Variations on for a template, you will need access to modify templates. If you can edit a template's setting, you can make this change. In the template's settings, click the Edit settings button. Under the Basics section there is a checkbox to Allow variations?. Ensure this is checked on, and that is it! 

Allow variation criteria? option

This option is only available if variations is allowed on a template. It is a specialist option designed to work with some export options and will affect folder naming at export. It is recommended this is left unchecked unless required for your workflow.

How do I create a Variation?

If your template has Artwork Variations enabled, a button will appear at the top right of the editor window that will allow you to create a new Variation.

To learn more about how to create an Artwork Variation, see our How to use Variations article. 

Artwork options for Variations

For each artwork preview, an action kebab menu will appear with options to select from that relate to that Variation. These options include Edit variation and Delete variation. Other options may appear here too as they become available.

Exporting Variations

How Variations are exported from Dokio may vary depending on your requirements and specific template settings. Speak with your Account Manager or Dokio Support to discuss your specific requirements.